Winter Guard Performance Analysis

Winter guard is an indoor sport derived from color guard, which is commonly associated with both high school and collegiate marching bands. Winter guard performances use recorded music rather than live bands and typically occur in gymnasiums and arenas. In “Marching to a Different Drum at Center Grove High School,” Debra Barbre describes these performances as “like creating Broadway in three minutes” (Barbre, 12). It is similar to Broadway performances in that performers have to actively engage the audience through choreography and movement around the stage or floor in tandem with the recorded music. In “The Flying Freak Flags of David Byrne’s Contemporary Color,” Michael Barclay says that color guard’s “combination of athletics and artistry is
Thus, the ICC Winter Guard program was created. Entitled IMPACT of Itawamba Community College, the program was successful for several years in the Mississippi Indoor Association (MIA) and in the Southeast Color Guard Circuit (SCGC) before expanding its horizons in 2013 and joining Winter Guard International (WGI). In many respects, the program did exactly what Gillentine wanted it to do. It grabbed the attention of high school students all over Mississippi and Alabama and several students immediately expressed their want to attend ICC just to be able to perform with this group and the marching band with which it was associated. It reflected the music department of ICC very well in that it exemplified excellence in its performance, but sportsmanship in competition. Because of this, IMPACT quickly developed a large fan base, especially throughout Mississippi. What neither Gillentine nor Christy expected from the program was that it would become even more popular outside of Mississippi and that its popularity would spread to Alabama and